Pop-up disposable bag

ABSTRACT

Pop-up disposable bag is formed of light-weight disposable bag assembly capable of self erecting and self-standing. It does not require any stakes, poles, ropes or additional supports or frame to support it. The entire bag assembly is flexible and can be folded to a compact form for packaging and sale and can easily be opened into a self-standing position by removing the retainer.

This application claims the benefit of my provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 60/708,303 filed on Aug. 13, 2005, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention is directed to an enhanced need for disposablebags which are used for holding garbage or yard waste that can becompactly packaged for easy transport but also subsequently easilyerected into a free standing upright receptacle with open top withoutthe use of any separate frame or any additional container.

2. Description of the Related Art

It is well known to provide disposable bags formed from a tube ofplastic which are used as garbage bags for holding disposable garbage.These bags generally require external supports and a structure to keepthem upright and also to keep the top open while being filled. Suchdisposable bags, if not supported and held adequately, tend to loseshape or fall over and are somewhat difficult to fill compactly.

It is another problem that in general the supporting structure ofdisposable bags which are made of steel wires and steel coils are bulky,clumsy and difficult to keep fully expanded. Also, the disposable bags,even when supported, can easily tip and blow over by a slight unevenfilling.

It is noted that the structure and the fittings for holding the bagsoften pinch through the bag enclosure and renders them unusable.Accordingly, these disposable bags cannot be used to hold a substantialweight of yard waste due to their unstable and crude supportingstructure.

It is further noted that collapsible containers are well known to beused as pop-up laundry hampers. These containers are formed from afabric covering at least three foldable frame members which are moreexpensive to produce and are not disposable.

The following prior art documents disclose examples of existingcollapsible bags or containers which could be used for holding garbageand yard waste.

U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0284866 A1 published on Dec. 29, 2005for Oakner et al disclose a disposable trash container having a liningmade of plastic and comprises a free standing structure which can becollapsed flat for packing and which is self opened to an expanded openposition.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,150 B1 issued on Jan. 30, 2001 to Fogler discloses acollapsible bag for collecting refuse, such as grass cuttings, leaves orother debris. The invention discloses a light weight frame which can befolded and unfolded which is adapted for insertion into a collapsiblebag for keeping the bag open and upright position to facilitate fillingthe bag.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,772 issued on Dec. 28, 1999 to Zheng formed of acollapsible structure which can be twisted and folded to reduce theoverall size of the structure to facilitate convenient storage and use.The invention is drawn to primarily store clothing, waste paper, etc.,and is covered by a fabric forming an open top and side panels andbottom.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,533 issued on Oct. 12, 1999 to Ziglar discloses ahamper for collection, transport, and removal of goods or otherarticles. It is primarily used as a hamper for holding and storage ofclothes for laundry. The receptacle can have a flaccid wall of a textilewhich is supported by a retractably collapsible support or tensionmember framework structure which would permit lateral collapsibility.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,014,516 issued on Dec. 26, 1961 to Mueller discloses acollapsible container for use of trash pick-up at the home or businessestablishment and can sustain abuse while being thrown by the trashcollection people. It is formed of a helical compressive spring steelwhich can sustain impact and misuse during handling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is drawn to an enhanced pop-up disposable bag for holdinggarbage or yard waste and other material which can be compactly packedfrom the opening at the top while standing up-right on its bottom. Thedisposable bag is packaged for ease of handling and transport.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide adisposable bag having an integral support mechanism enabling easy use ofthe bag without any additional or separate support structure orcontainer. The invention comprises elements of low cost material forminga structure and covering of the pop-up disposable bag.

It is another object of the invention to provide a light-weight,disposable assembly of a receptacle or bag with support structures thatare mostly self-erecting and free standing. It will not require anystakes, poles, ropes or additional container or frame to support it. Itis therefore, an integral frame of plastic and a membrane to form adisposable bag, the frame is made of a fairly rigid structure which isflexible enough to collapse but rigid enough to keep it free standing.The frame would be made from plastic or some other suitable recyclablematerial.

It is a further object of the invention to provide flexible connectionsbased on spring hinges or pin connectors which provide enoughflexibility in one direction so that the entire structure of thedisposable bag could be folded flat by rotation of top and bottom in onedirection for storage and packaging, and additionally the spring hingesor pin connectors are rigid enough to restrict bending in otherdirections.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a light-weight,disposable bag which is self erecting, free-standing having a flatbottom with an opening at top for filling and a method for closing itsuch as through the use of a draw string. It includes a membrane whichis made of plastic or other flexible recyclable material which can bemounted over the tubular frame structure or can be attached inside thetubular structure.

These and other objects of the present invention will become readilyapparent upon further review of the following specifications anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1—Perspective top view of the receptacle in its erect form withstructural members shown as dotted lines.

FIG. 2—Perspective bottom view of the receptacle in its erect form withstructural members shown as dotted lines.

FIG. 3—Perspective view of a preferred spring joint or hinge connectorwhere the hoop sections connect to the vertical members.

FIG. 4—Perspective view of an alternative spring joint or hingeconnector where the hoop sections connect to the vertical members.

FIG. 5—Perspective view of a pin hinge connector mechanism forconnecting members to the hoops.

FIG. 6—Front view of a pin hinge connector mechanism.

FIG. 7—Cross-sectional view along line 7-7 in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8—Illustration of the bag membrane loosely attaching to the framestructure via loops or sleeves.

FIGS. 9 through 13—Illustrating the method steps by which a singleperson can easily collapse the bag, showing the frame only for clarity.

FIG. 14 through 19—Illustrating the method steps by which a singleperson can easily assemble the bag, showing the frame only for clarity.

FIG. 20—Perspective top view of another embodiment of the pop-updisposable bag having a liner situated inside the structural membersframe structure.

FIG. 21—Perspective top view of the alternative embodiment of the pop-updisposable bag with a drawstring closeable top opening.

FIG. 22—Perspective top view of the alternative embodiment of the pop-updisposable bag having a liner situated inside the structural membersframe structure, with collapsible handles on the top hoop.

FIG. 23—Perspective top view of the pop-up disposable bag wherein thetop and bottom hoops have wider openings compared to the height of thevertical members, thereby forming a basin or tub form factor.

DRAWINGS REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   10—Concentric hoop members-   11—Vertical members-   12—Outer sheet or membrane-   13—Receptacle bottom-   14—Drawstring opening-   15—Internal loop or sleeve-   16—Spring hinge or joint-   17—Inner sheet or membrane-   18—Cut-out in sheet or membrane-   19—Closable drawstring opening-   20—External loop or sleeve-   21—Pin hinge-   22—Collapsible bag packet-   23—Storage container-   24—Handle

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention shown in FIG. 1, comprises a plurality of flexiblehoop members 10, each member is generally oval shaped when fullyexpanded. These flexible hoop members are held apart by other connectingflexible vertical members 11 and form a tubular frame. The verticalmembers also provide good support to the top hoop and resist compressionalong their long axis. The hoops and the connecting vertical memberswhich form the receptacle frame are made of plastic or some othersuitable recycled material which is flexible.

The receptacle comprises a sheet or membrane of recyclable plastic 12which extends over the flexible structure frame formed of hoops 10 andvertical members 11 having a tubular side wall, flat circular bottom 13and a top with an opening 14 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

A preferred arrangement, wherein the vertical members 111 connect to thehoops 10 at the top and bottom via flexible spring hinges 16 asillustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 and 9. Flexible spring hinges form asemi-rigid connection which is capable of resisting rotation when fullyexpanded and form a free standing structure. However, in order tocollapse the structure, when the hoops at the top and the bottom aregrabbed and are rotated in opposing direction along a centrallongitudinal axis as illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, the connections bendto allow a flattening of the vertical members into a generally circulararrangement as shown in FIG. 11. The resulting hoop arrangement can thenbe further twisted and folded as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 into a compactpacket 22 to be kept in a box 23 for storage and sale. The packetcontaining folded hoops and folded vertical members are held in acollapsed state by a restraining mechanism or simply by the outer box.23.

Additionally, the outer sheet covering 12 can be affixed to the frame byplastic heat stake or could be held loosely in place by retaining loopsor sleeves 15 as illustrated in FIG. 8.

The top opening 14 as illustrated in FIG. 1 may be provided with anoptional integrated closing mechanism such as one based on the drawstring or lock ties.

FIGS. 5-7 illustrate an alternative arrangement, wherein snap pinconnections 21 connect the hoops 10 at the top and bottom with thevertical members 111 and enable rotation at the pin joints, and at thesame time provide a free-standing stable structure when the joint issnapped in position.

An alternative embodiment of the present invention as illustrated inFIG. 20, wherein the bag membrane 17 on the inside of the frame can beattached to the inside surface of the top hoop with cut-outs 18 aroundspring hinge joints for providing a free and untangled movement at thejoints.

Alternatively, the top of the bag can be loosely attached to the tophoop using loops or sleeves 20 as illustrated in FIG. 21.

The top opening 19 as illustrated with an optional integrated closingmechanism such as one based on the drawstring in FIG. 21.

Operation

The present invention is a system which improves the usability of a bag,such as a drawstring garbage bag, without the need for a separatesupporting container or frame.

To collapse the bag, one person can easily disassemble the bag shown inFIGS. 1 and 2 into its compact form by twisting the structural hoops 10of the bag in opposite directions to collapse the hinged verticalmembers 11 as illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, resulting in an ovalarrangement of the hoops and vertical members as illustrated in FIG. 11,which can be further collapsed into concentric circular loopsapproximately one half in size by a simple twisting and folding motionas illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13.

The collapsed compact system formed of smaller hoops remains collapseduntil sufficient force is applied to cause them to open and attain theoriginal shape of the bag. These smaller hoops remain collapsed andrestrained by a retention mechanism such as an adhesive or tacky tab, orthe master packaging itself, unless a sufficient force is applied torelease the hoops from the retention mechanism, thereby allowing thehoops to spring open.

The collapsed system is light-weight and easily packaged in a box orcontainer for sale and transport as illustrated in FIG. 14.

To open the bag of an alternative embodiment, wherein the pin hingejoints are used to connect the hoops to the vertical members, one personcan grab the top and bottom concentric hoop members of the frame androtate them in opposing directions within their respective planes asillustrated in FIG. 18 and to fully erect the frame into a self standingstructure as illustrated in FIG. 19.

The bag thus formed is ready for use and can be filled from its openingat the top and when filled can be closed for disposal.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to theembodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodimentswithin the scope of the following claims.

1. A collapsible pop-up disposable bag comprising: a top formed of a circular hoop; a bottom formed of a circular hoop; a sidewall formed of a plurality of vertical members; and a liner formed of a sheet or membrane; whereby the top circular hoop and the bottom circular hoop are connected by said plurality of vertical members forming a flat bottom freestanding tubular frame of the disposable bag and wherein the tubular frame is covered by the liner forming an interior of the disposable bag having an opening at the top for filling the bag with disposable items.
 2. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein each said vertical member forms an integral connection at the top and also forms an integral connection at the bottom thus forming an integral tubular frame which resists compression along the long axis of the vertical members.
 3. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein the top and bottom circular hoops and the vertical members are made of flexible plastic material that allow the frame to be collapsed multiple times to a smaller size for storage or packaging.
 4. The disposable bag of claim 2, wherein the integral connection is formed of a multiple fold neck structure acting as a flexible spring hinge.
 5. The disposable bag of claim 2, wherein the integral connection is more flexible than the circular or vertical members of the integral tubular frame.
 6. The disposable bag of claim 4, wherein the integral connection is rigid enough to maintain the top hoop and the bottom hoop in a spaced apart freestanding position.
 7. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein the liner is directly attached to the frame using a low cost plastic heat stake manufacturing process.
 8. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein the liner is attached to a loop or a sleeve by plastic heat stake, whereby the loops or the sleeves slidably support the liner on the tubular frame.
 9. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein the liner is adapted to be slidably supported at the top.
 10. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein a loop or a sleeve forms the slidably supported arrangement.
 11. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein the liner is made of a suitable recyclable material.
 12. A pop-up disposable bag comprising: a frame comprised of a plurality of flexible members defining a circular hoop top; a concentric circular hoop bottom and a sidewall formed of a plurality of vertical supporting members; and a liner forming an interior of the disposable bag.
 13. The disposable bag of claim 12, wherein said plurality of vertical supporting members each releasably attaches to the circular hoop top at one end and to the concentric circular hoop bottom at the other end thereby forming a freestanding tubular structure.
 14. The disposable bag of claim 13, wherein the releasably attachable means comprise a pin hinge connection with a positional snap mechanism.
 15. The disposable bag of claim 14, wherein the liner comprises a circular top, a circular bottom and a cylindrical sidewall and additionally the circular top having a plurality of cutouts formed therein.
 16. The disposable bag of claim 12, wherein the liner forming the interior of the disposable bag is affixed to an inside surface of the circular hoop top.
 17. The disposable bag of claim 16, wherein the cutouts formed in the circular top are aligned with the snap-on pin hinge connection whereby to allow for an un-encumbered movement.
 18. The disposable bag of claim 12, wherein the disposable bag having an opening at the top which is configured and sized for filling the bag with garbage and waste.
 19. Method steps, as illustrated in FIGS. 9 thru 13, of collapsing the disposable bag structure into a compact form, comprising: holding a top portion and a spaced apart bottom portion of the disposable bag; twisting the top portion and the bottom portion including a plurality of connecting vertical members in an opposing direction; forming a flat circular oval shaped structure; and further holding the flat circular oval shaped structure at two ends and twisting them into forming two smaller equal circular shaped structures and further folding them into one smaller unit for packaging.
 20. Method steps, as illustrated in FIGS. 14 thru 19, of opening the disposable bag structure into a freestanding form, comprising: opening a box and removing a compact packet of the disposable bag structure and unfolding it into a larger circular shaped structure; further, twisting the hoops of the circular shaped structure into opposing directions for forming into a freestanding structure.
 21. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein the liner is made from an insect repellent material or treated with an insect repellent ingredient.
 22. The bag of claim 1, wherein the liner is made from a completely biodegradable material that can be used for collecting and disposing of organic plant matter, and for production of compost in the bag itself.
 23. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein the liner is impregnated with odor absorbing ingredients such as baking soda, and/or has odor absorbing packets of ingredients such as baking soda disposed within the liner at the bottom of the bag which is activated when the bag is erected.
 24. The disposable bag of claim 16, wherein the circular top hoop includes optional integrated handles 24 as shown in FIG. 22 for easier carrying while collecting materials to be stored in the bag.
 25. The disposable bag of claim 1, further including an integrated closing mechanism comprising a clip, clamp or cable tie for providing an air tight seal to minimize spreading odors.
 26. The disposable bag of claim 25, wherein the integrated closing mechanism comprises a single-side drawstring with a clamp to ensure a tighter seal to restrict emission of odors.
 27. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein the top and bottom hoops have wider openings compared to the height of the vertical members as shown in FIG. 23 to form a tub-shaped bag suited for collecting leaves in the yard with a rake or other wide implements.
 28. The disposable bag of claim 1, wherein the top and bottom hoops have wider openings compared to the height of the vertical members forming a water-tight bassinette or a tub suited for washing babies or pets. 